National statistics report over 4 million births in the U.S. in 2007, which is over 300,000 births per month, or 30,000 births per day. The average length of stay for a mother and baby is 3 days; including both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Every baby requires a bassinet for the postpartum hospital stay, and there are approximately 900,000 bassinets presently in hospitals throughout the United States. The average bassinet that is presently used in the hospital costs approximately $1000, and the most popular model is a standalone crib-type.
Hospitals have embraced the “rooming in concept”, that allows the mother to have her newborn in her hospital room day and night. The infant is in the care of the mother, who has just delivered her baby. New mothers naturally want to cuddle the infant, and many of course commence breast-feeding right away. However, the arduous labor process and the possibility of the mother having received narcotics during labor or during her cesarean section results in fatigue and exhaustion. This increases the chance of a mother falling asleep with her infant. It has also been reported that mothers will sacrifice sleeping while attending to their infant, and the research has proven that sleep deprivation can lead to postpartum depression and anxiety. Furthermore, in extreme cases infants die from suffocation as a result of a sleeping mother unknowingly laying on her infant and cutting off the infant's airway.
Consumers are driving the rooming-in concept versus the traditional concept of having the infant in the nursery at night, coming out only for feedings. While research supports the theory that rooming-in facilitates mother-infant bonding and increases successful breast feeding, there is much concern about mothers getting adequate rest, and of course about the possible danger to the infant. Nursery nurses are unable to observe the infants in their charge as closely when they are rooming-in with their mothers, and while nurses round on their patients on a consistent basis, there is always a chance for an accident to occur due to an infant being in bed with a sleeping mother. While there is substantial research surrounding postpartum depression and sleep deprivation, little has been done to explore possible solutions to insure that mothers are able to get adequate sleep during their hospital stay.
In addition, nurses on post partum floors report that the number one reason a mother asks for help is that she is too tired to get her baby out of the nearby bassinet, or too tired to return the baby to the bassinet, and needs the nurse to assist her. It is understandable that an exhausted mother could easily fall asleep before getting up to return her infant to its bassinet. The primary concern is that an exhausted mother who is feeding her baby in bed does not realize she is drifting off to sleep and will fall asleep with the baby in her arms, and the nursing staff will not be aware of the situation.
Statistics have shown that infants have suffocated in hospital settings due to “overlaying” (lying on the baby while sleeping). There are many reports of infants falling from their sleeping mother's arms onto the floor. Studies have also shown that there are over 700 reported infant falls in hospitals in the U.S. annually, and probably many more unreported events. The falls usually occur when a mother falls asleep nursing her baby and the baby falls out of her arms and onto the floor.
Indeed, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, warns parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds. These organizations state that the practice of co-sleeping puts babies at a higher risk of suffocation and strangulation. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission the primary risks of infants sleeping in adult beds include suffocation caused by an adult rolling on top of or next to a baby; suffocation when an infant gets trapped or wedged between a mattress and a headboard, nightstand, wall, or other object; suffocation resulting from a baby being face down on a waterbed, a regular mattress or on soft bedding, such as pillow blankets, or quilts; and strangulation in a headboard or footboard that allows a portion of an infant's body to pass through an area while trapping the baby's head.
To avoid these risks, there are ways to keep a baby close by, but not in the adult's bed. A bassinet that allows a mother to view her infant without having to get out of bed, and be able to access her infant while in bed, can help prevent sleeping accidents from occurring, thereby reducing a mother's anxiety and promoting rest and safety for the mother during her postpartum hospital stay. For example, a baby can be placed in a bassinet or crib next to the adult's bed. There are also devices that look like a bassinet minus one side, which attaches to the adult bed and is termed a “co-sleeper.” These devices allow the parent and baby to be next to one another without the possibility of the parent rolling over onto the infant. Various co-sleepers that attach to a bedside are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,172,435, 5,430,899, 6,934,981, and 7,406,725.
Unfortunately, many rooms do not have enough space to place these devices in the same room as the adult bed, let alone at the side of the adult bed. When used, a bassinet placed next to a bed will be inconvenient in that only one adult on one side of the bed will have convenient access to it. Additionally, when a bassinet is placed near the side of the bed, this can block easy access to the bed and make it difficult for an adult to move in or out of the bed. In a hospital setting the co-sleeper may interfere with the nurses' duties.
Another design where the infant bed is suspended above the adult bed is seen in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0222810. This device features a holding structure supported by a horizontal arm extending from a relatively sturdy support stand behind the head of the bed, or by a “C-shaped” apparatus which extends from below the bed upward, and over the adult bed area. The constructions shown are relatively bulky and likely expensive, and the overall ergonomic functioning leaves something to be desired.
In an effort to improve outcomes for mothers and infants, an over-the-bed bassinet designed for a mother's comfort and the baby's safety, and which is relatively simple and cost-effective, is needed.